Classical Music 101: Composers to know and love

Middle Ages (9th Century - 1450)
In the Middle Ages, or Dark Ages as they were also called, most music written was for the church. During this era, music evolved from single line chants into multi-voiced pieces. Composers were mostly monks and nuns, as was the case with Hildegard of Bingen. The end of the age saw the rise of the ars nova, or new art. Both de Vitry and Machaut were composers under the ars nova. Other works being written at this time include Dante's Divine Comedy (1307) and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1386).

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
Guillaume de Machaut (ca. 1300-1377)
Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361)

Middle Ages (9th Century - 1450)
In the Middle Ages, or Dark Ages as they were also called, most music written was for the church. During this era, music evolved from single line chants into multi-voiced pieces. Composers were mostly monks and nuns, as was the case with Hildegard of Bingen. The end of the age saw the rise of the ars nova, or new art. Both de Vitry and Machaut were composers under the ars nova. Other works being written at this time include Dante's Divine Comedy (1307) and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1386).

Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)
Guillaume de Machaut (ca. 1300-1377)
Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361)

Renaissance (1450-1600)
Renaissance music moved more towards secular life. Madrigals became a favorite song form. These were idyllic love poems or satirical stories usually written about knights and their ladies. In the tradition started during the Middle Ages, troubadours, or traveling musicians, carried these song stories from village to village. The church focused on the Mass as its primary form, but also developed the shorter motet to spread its message.

William Byrd (1543-1623)
Guillaume Du Fay (ca. 1397-1474)
Johannes Ockeghem (ca. 1420-1497)
Josquin des Prez (ca. 1450s-1521)
Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594)
Giovanni Gabrieli (ca. 1557-1612)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525/6-1594)

Renaissance (1450-1600)
Renaissance music moved more towards secular life. Madrigals became a favorite song form. These were idyllic love poems or satirical stories usually written about knights and their ladies. In the tradition started during the Middle Ages, troubadours, or traveling musicians, carried these song stories from village to village. The church focused on the Mass as its primary form, but also developed the shorter motet to spread its message.

William Byrd (1543-1623)
Guillaume Du Fay (ca. 1397-1474)
Johannes Ockeghem (ca. 1420-1497)
Josquin des Prez (ca. 1450s-1521)
Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594)
Giovanni Gabrieli (ca. 1557-1612)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525/6-1594)

Baroque (1600-1750)
Baroque has been defined mostly in unflattering terms: noisy, unmelodious, or grotesque. Before the term was ever applied to art or music, baroque meant abnormal, bizarre or in bad taste. When it was first heard, many did not care for the twisting, contrapuntal sound. Today, Baroque usually is used in reference to J.S. Bach, one of the most prolific composers of all time. Bach is probably most well-known for his church music. Other notable pieces from the era include Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and Handel's Messiah.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1759)
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
François Couperin (1668-1733)
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Georg Philip Telemann (1681-1767)
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

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Dates & background information courtesy of:
Grout, Donald and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music. 6th ed. W.W Norton: New York, 2001.

Prepared by the Popular Materials Dept., 2005.